President Obama’s Chief of Staff Bill Daley floated what might turn out one top ten stupidest ideas of 2011 during an appearance on Meet the Press yesterday… suggesting the Obama Administration may tap into the strategic petroleum reserve as way to help ease soaring oil prices:
White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said on Sunday the Obama administration is considering tapping into the U.S. strategic oil reserve as one way to help ease soaring oil prices.
Speaking on NBC television’s “Meet the Press,” Daley said: “We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering. … All matters have to be on the table.”
There has been support among Senate Democrats for tapping the reserves. Senator Jay Rockefeller on Thursday became the third Democrat to ask President Barack Obama to tap America’s emergency oil supply to cool prices that have risen past $100 a barrel on the strife in Libya.
Heh, I’d laugh, but this isn’t funny…. the strategic petroleum reserve exists to protect the United States against an interruption of petroleum supplies, not to try and temporarily drive down oil prices.
Jazz Shaw sums things up nicely over at Hot Air:
So let me see if I’ve got this straight:
- Oil and gas prices are rising in response to well established laws of supply and demand. Since we’re not going to magically produce all the energy we need for the next few years through “green initiatives” a good portion of this will have to come from fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.
- We’re not producing enough oil domestically because the federal government is sitting on drilling permits like they’re holding hostages.
- The foreign sources of oil from many of our overseas suppliers (who we’re supposed to be reducing our dependency upon because most of them don’t like us very much to start with) are now endangered as several of these countries totter on the brink of collapse.
Shaw’s second point about domestic oil production is an important one… This administration has been choking off domestic natural gas and oil production while at the same time trumpeting so called “green energy”.
The simple truth is it’s bullshit, whether we like it not, whether we want to admit it on not oil, natural gas and coal are the life blood of our economy and will be for the foreseeable future. To deny that reality is the height of political wishful thinking. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be investing in green energy technologies like solar and windmills. We have to be realistic though, neither of them is going to replace oil, natural gas or coal as our primary energy sources anytime soon.
We should be doing everything possible to tap into domestic oil and natural gas supplies not choking off their production in favor of “green energy” technologies that can’t possibly meet current demands.
Related
- Government posts biggest monthly deficit ever – Washington Times
- Oil settles above $105 a barrel, gas above $3.50 – Associated Press
- Gas prices are about more than just oil – Associated Press
- Salazar appeals court decision forcing him to act on drilling permits – The Daily Caller